So Many Disney Channel & Nickelodeon Actors Turn 30 This Year!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Tom Cruise has become a regular visitor to South Korea and, while his latest visit was more than a week ago, the impact of his efforts appeared to endure. His ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning’ got off to the second strongest start at the Korean box office of any Hollywood movie released this year. The film grossed $9.75 million between Friday and Sunday, according to Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That represented a 60% market share, earned from some 2,400 screens. In its full opening five days (plus previews), it earned $14.2 million.

Karen Idelson As the Nickelodeon Animation Studio celebrates its 25th anniversary, it’s clearly blossomed from being a small but formidable toon house to a world-class studio with dozens of productions in process and executive Ramsey Naito at the helm. And Naito’s plans include growing relationships with creators who can speak to Nick’s audience.  In the last five to six years, the studio has expanded to include Nick Animation West (Burbank), Nick Animation East (New York) and offices in Hollywood on the Paramount lot. When Naito was named president of Nickelodeon Animation in 2020 (she has since become president of Paramount Animation as well), there were nine shows in production at the studio. Today there are nearly 70 at a place known for its irreverent, fun and boundary-breaking animation.  

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast hosts Michael Schneider, Clayton Davis, Emily Longeretta and Jazz Tangcay gathered on Wednesday, just hours after the Television Academy announced this year’s Emmy nominations, to dissect the news — from the big winners like “Succession,” to the shocking omissions (no Harrison Ford or Elizabeth Olsen), and then the nice surprises (wow, “Jury Duty”!). The nominations were telling on a number of fronts — including the current assessment that we may very well see a beat “Succession”/”Ted Lasso” dominance. Did the voting procedural changes help bring in a wider group of nominees? No. And will voters pick straight tickets of “Succession” and “Ted Lasso” nominees? Quite possible. Who will win the “SNL”/”Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” smackdown? What are our favorite faceoffs this year? (How can one pick between birthday celebrations for Norman Lear and Carol Burnett, for example?)

With the much expected SAG-AFTRA strike announced Thursday, fall film festivals are in wait-and-see mode as to whether it’s a season sans stars.

With poor box office numbers so far for Pixar‘s “Elemental” and James Mangold‘s “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny,” Disney sees itself in the middle of its worst theatrical slump in a long time. And it arguably started back in March with “Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania,” which made less than $500 million worldwide and suffered the steepest second-week drop at the domestic box office of any Marvel film.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Disney CEO Bob Iger is citing the studio’s output increase for Disney+ as one reason for “some disappointments” as of late. Speaking to CNBC’s David Faber at the Sun Valley Conference, Iger admitted the studio screwed with audience expectation by offering up so much streaming content. The negative impact of that has been commercial disappointments in theaters, be it “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” not even getting past the $500 million worldwide or disappointing openings for summer tentpoles “Elemental” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” “There have been some disappointments we would have liked some of our more recent releases to perform better,” Iger said. “It’s reflective not as a problem from a personnel perspective, but I think in our in our zeal to basically grow our content significantly to serve mostly our streaming offerings, we ended up taxing our people way beyond — in terms of their time and their focus — way beyond where they had been.”

There’s a lot of good news coming from TLC with their TV show renewals…however, fans aren’t gonna be happy to learn about the fate of one fan fave.

Jenna Ortega and Pedro Pascal are making history in their respective categories. Ortega becomes the third Latina to be nominated as a lead actress in the awards show, following Rita Moreno for her work in “9 to 5” and America Ferrera for “Ugly Betty.” Pedro Pascal becomes the first actor since 1999 to be nominated as a lead actor, when Jimmy Smits earned his nomination for his work in the show “NYPD Blue.” Emmys 2023: Check out this year’s list of nomineesEmmys: Pedro Pascal is the first Latino to land nomination in Drama category since 1999Emmys: Jenna Ortega makes history as youngest Latina nominee for ‘Wednesday’Despite Ortega and Pascal’s exciting recognition, the number of Latino nominees remains low in award shows.

Yvette Nicole Brown and Frank Scherma, the chair of the Television Academy. Emmys: Jenna Ortega makes history as youngest Latina nominee for ‘Wednesday’Colombian actress Sasha Calle is officially the first Latina Supergirl in DC UniverseEva Longoria gets a standing ovation after tossing a ceremonial pitchA post shared by Emmys / Television Academy (@televisionacad)The awards are meant to air on September 18th, although this date may be pushed back depending on the ongoing writer’s strike that’s affecting the industry at large.

It’s going to be a big night for Pedro Pascal at the 2023 Emmy Awards as he’s up for three awards.

Brett Goldstein aka Roy Kent, is headed stateside to perform stand-up at the 2023 New York Comedy Festival.On Friday, Nov. 10, the British actor-comedian-writer-podcaster will hit the stage at NYC’s Beacon Theatre for a show he’s dubbed “The Second Best Night Of Your Life.”According to the show description, “there will be swears.”Not familiar with Goldstein outside of “Ted Lasso?”Turns out he’s quite an accomplished comic who had a solo show about working in his dad’s strip club.Yes, you read that right.And if you want to score tickets to see him live in the Big Apple today, we’re here to help.Although inventory is limited on Ticketmaster due to high demand, fans who want to ensure they have tickets ahead of time can purchase on sites like Vivid Seats before tickets are officially on sale.Vivid Seats is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.They have a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and will be delivered before the event.Many comics have been tapped to perform at this year’s Festival in November.Just a few of the biggest names on the bill include Bill Burr, Anthony Jeselnik, Dave Attell, Ilana Glazer and Jimmy Carr.You can find more knee-slappin’ acts set to perform at this year’s comedy extravaganza here.If you can’t make it out to NYC to catch Goldstein live this year, there will be plenty of other silver and small screen stars trekking all over the U.S.

While the “Godzilla” franchise seems to be going pretty well in America, with Adam Wingard’s upcoming “Godzilla vs. Kong” sequel set to arrive in 2024, over in Japan, the original Toho-guided franchise has been quiet since 2016’s “Shin Godzilla.” And before that, there wasn’t a new live-action Japanese-produced film in the franchise since 2004.

The UK Government recently set a new target to save at least £1.3billion in 2023-24 through its dedicated counter fraud and error resource. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said this will be a significant increase on the £1.1billion savings achieved last year, cracking down further on those exploiting the benefits system and stealing from those who most need help.

Britney Spears has revealed the title and release date of her much-anticipated new memoir.The book will mark the first time that the pop star has publicly shared her story since being released from her 13-year conservatorship, which captured the attention of the world.Yesterday morning (July 11), she shared an update on social media, revealing that the memoir will be titled The Woman In Me. It also confirmed that it will arrive on October 24 via Gallery Books, an extension of Simon & Schuster.“It’s coming, my story, on my terms… at last.

Since its inception in 1996, Quebec’s Fantasia International Film Festival has grown into the premiere festival for genre film. And the 2023 edition of the festival, set to kick off on July 20, now has a guest of honor that’s perfect for its niche.

In partnership with DHL FAST-TRACK SessionsThe three winners of DHL FAST-TRACK Sessions 2023 have been announced.After launching in 2022, the grassroots music initiative’s second edition attracted hundreds of entries from unsigned musicians, with international artists also being invited to submit their music for the first time.A judging panel made up of Grammy-nominated producer and DJ Jax Jones, gold-selling record producer Hannah V and NME’s Associate Commissioning Editor (New Music) Sophie Williams then narrowed down the shortlist to just three artists.Clara Pople, Amelia Rose and PIWA can now be announced as the winners of DHL FAST-TRACK Sessions 2023. The three artists each recently received the ultimate AAA experience of recording their own original music at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios, with Jax Jones serving as a DHL FAST-TRACK Sessions mentor and Hannah V returning as the Sessions’ in-house producer.Speaking to NME about the experience, London-based singer/producer Amelia Rose said she was made to feel “super welcome” at Abbey Road.

For years, the Disney Channel has been a breeding ground for young talent, churning out stars that have gone on to make their mark in the entertainment industry. From the likes of Shia LaBeouf and Demi Lovato to Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus, the network has provided a platform for some of the biggest names in music and acting.

Conecta Fiction & Entertainment caught the mood of a larger international market with panelists in its conference strand focusing often on market challenges, when a feeding fever for premium content dominated conversations in recent editions. That said, running June 26-29 in Toledo, in market attendance and insight and shows brought to market, CF&E fairly rocked.  10 takeaways from this year’s edition:    Despite Toledo’s sweltering in a hot snap, even by Spanish standards, Conecta Fiction’s attendance sky-rocketed to 1,031 accredited professionals, an all-time record and 42% up on figures announced at the end of 2022’s edition. Reasons abound. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas, to touch base with production partners, new ideas. It’s really interesting to see what’s happening here on Prime Video, Netflix or Disney+, what’s really working in Spain or Italy, and what lessons I can take back to my territory,” says Marie Leguizamo, MD Banijay Mexico & U.S. Hispanic. 

Disney Channel actor, Daniel Benson, who starred with Selena Gomez on Wizards of Waverley Place, has given up acting for a career on OnlyFans.The 35 year old former child star took to TikTok to inform his fans about his change in career direction, as he discussed his mental health. Dressed in a beige T-shirt as he showed off his many arm tattoos, Dan, who played Zeke Beakerman on the hit Disney show, said: "I've been doing adult entertainment for about a year now." Speaking about the reaction of his fans and followers and, in turn, his reaction to that, Dan said: "My first reaction is confusion...

Attorneys for The Walt Disney Co. and Ron DeSantis are proposing very different timelines for the start of a federal trial over the company’s claim of retaliation by the Florida governor.